As You Wish
by illrain666
Summary: Sometimes, the littlest things can make you realize incredibly important things. Penny and Sheldon
1. Chapter 1

As You Wish

And on a night when she was playing hostess to two of the oddest females of her acquaintance, _again_ (because a certain Amy Farrah Fowler wanted to have more "bonding" time with her girlfriends and wouldn't take no for an answer when she insisted on having a sleepover), Penny made a very startling discovery while they were watching "The Princess Bride".

The evening had started innocently enough, and there had been no uncomfortable incidents related to experimental lesbianism of any type. They had eaten their take-out, then Bernadette had whipped out a DVD from her overnight bag and declared that she wanted them to watch one of "the most romantic films ever". Amy had instantly agreed out of scientific curiosity (and her face had gotten that expression that said she was going to take very detailed notes about the entire experience), so Penny had popped the movie into her player and the three women had settled comfortably on the couch once the film started.

While watching the first few scenes introducing the story of Wesley and Buttercup, the following conversation occurred between the two guests (which Penny tried her best, but failed, to ignore).

"I'm afraid that I don't comprehend the rationale behind her sudden shift in affection. My extensive readings have led me to conclude that just because a certain person loves another, it is not a valid reason for the other individual to reciprocate those feelings. This Buttercup person seems to be rather precipitous in bestowing her affections on the Wesley character."

"Oh, but you don't get it. They've always had this spark between them. You know, with Buttercup teasing or making fun of Wesley all the time. And Wesley loves her so much that she can't help but love him back."

"But that does not make any sense. Logic would dictate that if a person feels affection for another, then he or she would not display this emotion through disdain or ridicule."

"Well, it's because Buttercup didn't know she was in love with Wesley until she realized that he loved her every time he told her, 'As you wish.'"

"Bernadette, I find your argument so inherently flawed that I will not even dignify it with a rebuttal."

"Oh, Amy, you just don't understand it! Penny, explain it to her please."

Startled at suddenly being dragged into the conversation, Penny floundered for an explanation that would satisfy both women. "Well, guys, feelings are just so confusing and mixed up sometimes that you don't even know what you're feeling until something happens that snaps you to reality. So, Buttercup may have been completely convinced that she didn't like Wesley because she's never thought of him that way, but when she found out he loved her, then she suddenly started seeing the good side of him, which eventually made her realize that she actually could like him or love him even."

Amy frowned at her. "I still don't see how such a thing could be possible."

"But that's the crazy, wonderful thing about love!" Bernadette trilled. "When it happens, you just get blown away."

Not for the first time, Penny wondered how on God's green earth Howard Wolowitz had managed to get a girlfriend like Bernadette. But she just smiled noncommittally and said, "Let's just watch the movie, okay?" She couldn't wait for this night to be over, but she had vowed to herself that she was going to get through it without a drop of alcohol, so she set her jaw and turned her attention back to the TV screen.

Amy opened her mouth like she was about to argue again, but three distinctive knocks suddenly sounded throughout the apartment followed by a familiar voice speaking Penny's name. Penny bolted out of the couch in thankfulness. Right now, she would take anything that would spare her from another uncomfortable question about feelings and love, even if it was talking to Sheldon Cooper.

"Hey, Sheldon!" she said brightly as she opened the door after the knocking had ceased. "What's up?"

"Oh, hello, Penny," the tall physicist from next door greeted her with a tiny smile. "I actually just dropped by to say goodnight to Amy Farrah Fowler. She mentioned that she would be having some 'bonding time' with you and Bernadette tonight. May I come in for a few minutes?"

"Sure." She gestured for him to come in and frowned because she suddenly didn't feel so glad that he was here to spare her from the women's company for just a few minutes. She frowned even more when she saw Sheldon looking down and smiling at Amy as they talked nerd-speak to each other. The frown turned into a full-on scowl when Amy asked if Sheldon would like to have breakfast with her the next morning and Sheldon, _Sheldon!_, replied quite gallantly, "As you wish."

And that was when the world turned itself inside out and everything changed for Penny.

Holy crap on a cracker! Doctor Whack-a-doodle was in love with Amy! There could be no other explanation for why he was giving her that look that on other guys would appear like constipation but was actually Sheldon's version of fondness. He _loved _her. He really did.

And—oh, my. This was not good. So very, very _not _good, at all. But, wait! Why was she freaking out like this? Why didn't she think that Sheldon being in love and having human feelings was a wonderful thing? He was her friend, for frak's sake, and she should be happy for him! And did she really just use the word "frak"? What was wrong with her? Why didn't the world feel right anymore? Did she stumble into one of the many universes that Sheldon was always going on about where he was in love and she was not too thrilled about it because—oh, god!

And when he looked down at her and said, "Goodnight, Penny", with that little twist of a smile and shut the door behind him, it was like a thunderclap that suddenly cleared up all the confusion in her head.

She was in love with Sheldon Cooper. And she totally blamed "The Princess Bride" for getting her into this mess.


	2. Chapter 2

As You Wish

The next day, Penny went about her normal routine in a sleepwalker's daze. She was being silly. No, she was being insane! There was no way that she could be in love with Sheldon. Not Sheldon Cooper with his tics and his weirdness and his stupid t-shirts and his germ phobia and, God, please don't let her be in love with Sheldon! So what if he could be unexpectedly sweet and kind sometimes? So what if he challenged her in ways no other person ever had? So what if she loved him? Wait! No! No! She was absolutely not in love with Sheldon Cooper!

Then she almost had a heart attack when she heard him knocking at her door.

"What do you want?" she greeted him with a scowl and furiously ignored the fact that her heart was suddenly tap dancing in her chest.

He looked down his nose at her. "Well, you're not being very friendly," he observed.

Instantly, she was sorry. "I apologize, sweetie. Having a really, _really _weird day. So, what is it?" Whatever it was, she hoped it wouldn't be another world-altering event because she really couldn't handle another one of those right now.

"I require a favor," he informed her. "It has been brought to my attention that a relationship such as the one I have with Amy Farrah Fowler necessitates the accomplishment of certain actions. To be specific, while we were having breakfast, an odious couple sitting at the table next to ours made a very unsavory and public display of affection, i.e. they _made out _when the male presented the female with a gift of flowers."

"And what you mean is?" she prompted because she really didn't get what he was trying to say.

"Flowers, Penny!" he said somewhat snappishly. "I need your help to buy Amy flowers."

_Ouch. _"You wanna buy Amy flowers? Oh, God, it's really serious between the two of you, isn't it?" She held her breath for his answer.

"Of course, it is," he confirmed. "I take all my friendships seriously." He said it in a tone that made it clear he thought that fact should have already been obvious to her.

"Then what? After you get her the flowers, will you make out with her, too?" She hoped he couldn't detect the despair, and the jealousy, in her voice.

"Penny!" He glared at her in exasperation. "Of course not! In fact, it never would have even occurred to me to buy her flowers if she hadn't proposed the idea. She wants us to experiment with the socially dictated conventions of traditional human courtship and mating rituals, purely for science."

Basically, all she really got from that was that he really didn't want to purchase flowers for Amy but, since Amy had asked, then he was doing it. Which was more evidence that, good God, he actually, truly liked the other woman.

Penny had done some hard things in her life. She had left home with nothing but her determination and her dreams, and she had survived for years in a place that routinely shattered strong people without any effort. She had turned down roles that she would have killed to play simply because she wanted to earn them with her acting talent and not with her skills in bed. She had gone through relationships that would have devastated other women. But none of these things could compare to the strength that she was making herself display now by looking up at Sheldon's face, smiling, and saying, "Sure. As you wish."

He beamed at her in pleasure and, for a moment, her heart soared with giddy joy. Then she fell back to earth when she remembered that she was going to help him buy flowers for another woman. Not for her. Because, of course, it couldn't be her. That was just silly, thinking and hoping that Sheldon could ever see her that way. She was just his friend, and her feelings were completely crazy and hopeless. Later, as she drove them to the florist's, she half-listened to him chatter about something science-y and she suddenly had a vision of the future. Her life could go on like this for years—being Sheldon's friend, doing him favors, watching him gain more and more signs of humanity, and loving him hopelessly all the time. Of course, she knew that she could eventually get over her emotions but, until then, she resigned herself to the fact that she would have to live with the pain. Life wasn't like "The Princess Bride". It was just this.

"Oh, Penny," he interrupted himself in the middle of a long, complex explanation about something she didn't really know what, "after we get the flowers, could we drop by the comic book store? I'd like to check something."

And she just bit her lip for a second, then smiled, and said, "As you wish."


End file.
